Beginning of Ends
by awalkingfairytale
Summary: After Red John was turned in, Teresa Lisbon disappeared. One month later they found her body. But if she's truly dead then who is the woman that shares an uncanny resemblance to Patrick Jane's Teresa? Does love come a third time? *Jisbon*
1. Chapter 1

Beginning of Ends

They had been so close. Everything had just started to get better.

Lorelei was gone. Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome FBI agent had transferred for reasons that Jane may or may not have had a hand with. They went back to old rhythms, the banter, the sharing of food during a case, even going to the movies or an art exhibit should one happen to be nearby. He had let himself believe in the chance that maybe... That maybe once Red John was gone, because it had to be over someday, that they could move on _together._

They had been mere minutes away from taking down Red John when he got a call.

She knew what coming here, what coming to him willingly, meant.

oOoOoOo

She didn't fight, didn't see the point really. She came to make a deal with devil, the cost being her life. She waited patiently as he walked towards her. He wore a navy suit and black shoes. Hard to believe that a man that had done so much evil, that had caused so much pain could look so normal. She told him to stop dragging this out and just get it over with, cursing the small tremble in her voice that betrayed what she was feeling. He smiled softly at her shaking his head. He told her he wouldn't let a hurt her. He wouldn't touch her. Wouldn't lay on a hand on her. After all that wasn't what they'd agreed on.

He handed over a small needle and told her to inject herself with it. Shed eyed him skeptically wondering if he'd really keep his word.

"Don't worry my dear. I am a man true to his word. We both know that this is the only way to get what we both want, aren't I right Teresa?"

Hesitating momentarily, she gave him a small nod and turned to press the needle to her arm. She felt nothing at first before she felt herself tense up, everything felt muddy and her vision was foggy. She swayed a bit before collapsing to her knees. She slid further to the floor before, laying on her back she saw footsteps approaching her before his face came into view. She stared into those cold steel blue eyes before she felt her eyes droop closed. The last thing she heard before the darkness swept her unconscious was the word _Amelia_.

_11 months later_

Mark and Abby Despon lived in a friendly neighborhood of suburban homes in Sacramento, with their two daughters and youngest son. It was a Sunday, and Abby and her husband were doing some yard work, when they happened to glance up at the roar of a moving van. The moving van stopped across the street to their home, they watched as the movers jumped out and started to unload everything inside.

"Ah so the new neighbors are finally moving in." Mark said.

"I guess so." His wife murmured in response.

They watched as a silver minivan drove up and into the driveway of the house. The driver's door opened and a small woman with straight blond hair stepped out, the woman pushed the sunglasses over her head before turning to open the passenger door. Lending a hand to his wife to help her up, the Mark and Abby shared a glance communicating as only some couples could, coming to the unspoken agreement that they should go introduce themselves. They crossed the street walking up to the house calling out a friendly hello.

The woman leaned out slightly, glancing around before stopping at the sight of the people coming up her driveway. She waited till they were closer before she spoke.

"Hello." She smiled brightly.

"Hi, my name is Mark and this is my gorgeous wife Abby..." He paused to throw Abby a wink, causing both women to laugh at his antics. "And we just wanted to come over and say hello and welcome you to the neighborhood."

The fair haired woman started to speak before a cry from the car broke her off.

"Uh oh, someone is feeling left out." She said playfully, reaching into the car to pull out a baby girl.

"Oh my goodness she's so beautiful." Abby said. While her mother had shiny honey blonde hair and light green eyes, the baby had dark curly hair and big round sea green eyes. She reached out to stroke the baby's arm. The baby turned away from her mother and threw a big smile to Abby effectively making her melt.

"Thanks. Would u like to hold her?"

"Oh, of course!" She smiled as the baby was passed into her arms and the baby let out a small giggle, enjoying being the center of attention.

"What's her name?"

"Charlene."

Mark let out a small laugh causing the women to look over at him. He reached over to Charlene letting the baby grip on of his fingers in her tiny hands. "Well you know our names and we now know the name of this little angel but we haven't learned _yours_ yet." He said with a small smirk.

The woman blushed hotly, embarrassed. "Oops. Sorry about that, it's Amelia. My name is Amelia."

"Nice to meet you Amelia, listen we're having a small block party later today, please tell us you'll consider dropping by."

Amelia smiled, and agreed that she'd stop by. They chatted for a while longer before letting Amelia continue unpacking after kindly declining their offers to help. She adjusted Charlene on her hip and walked into her new home. She maneuvered through the halls looking for a particular box before finding it in the living room. She kneeled down and opened it, digging inside till she came up with a small paper frog inside a clear glass box. She glanced at the box for a minute before setting it on top of the fireplace and moving on to the rest of the stuff inside. There it was. She reached to pull out the small white plush bunny that was her daughter's favorite. She handed the bunny to her daughter smiling when she saw her daughter let out a squeal of delight.

She pressed a kiss to her daughters head before making her way back outside. "Come on Char, let's go help the movers with the rest of our stuff."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jane sits on a bench in a park, nursing a half eaten apple in his hands. There's the party of a family reunion being interviewed by Van Pelt and Rigsby nearby, Cho was gathering information from M.E. on the body found wrapped in a multiple of kites before being strapped to a volleyball net. The victim was a woman in maybe her late 20s, tall slender and blonde; probably a kindergarten teacher or church counselor judging from the colorful woven yarn bracelets adorning her wrists and what Jane presumed was dried paint and purple clay on her hands and her fingernails.

Getting up to throw out his apple, he strolls further into the park stopping at the edge of the lake. He squats down to take a closer look at a small bunch of weeds, noticing wisps of loose red thread. Taking his shoes and socks off and rolling his pants up, he wades into the water, crouching down, sifting through the bottom of lake. As he bent forward he felt the silver cross that belonged to Teresa slip out from under his shirt, to dangle in front of him. Briefly palming it in his hand, he tucks it back under his shirt, patting it into place. Momentarily drawn from his task he takes a second to stare at his muddy reflection in the water. There were still dark circles under his eyes, but he was an insomniac, even more so with the past events, so it couldn't be helped. His hair was looking better, making an effort comb it and a trip to the hairdressers had helped. He was happy to see that he wasn't as hollowed out as he was a few weeks ago, that was mostly thanks to Grace that stopped by on occasion with homemade meals, because he'd been too depressed to even maintain any sort of healthy eating habits. Mentally shaking himself from those thoughts he began to search through the water once more.

_Rock, rock… more rocks… dirt…Aha. _

He lifted his hands out coming up with a soaked yellow, purple, and green quilted bag.

"Grace?" he called out to the redhead. Grace walked over, Rigsby and Cho in tow.

She looked up him, smiling. "Great job, Jane."

No matter how dysfunctional they were a family, and family looked out for one another. What with the press having a field day with Red John's capture after fourteen years, senior agent Teresa Lisbon's missing report making headlines right after as well, it was the team's job to make sure Jane wouldn't go back down the rabbit hole. At first all his time was spent preparing for Red Johns trial. He later then took the lead on the search for Lisbon, which mainly consisted of spending his days badgering police officials, informing them that they were inept idiots, incapable of even finding a lost sock. Then came the day when Lisbon's body had been discovered. Her body had been sneaked into the CBI overnight, on the couch in her office, laid out in her usual work clothes, hands folded neatly atop her stomach. Her body marred with cuts and bruises everywhere, all except her face. They had found her necklace tucked underneath her folded hands. Cause of death a fatal stab wound to the heart. He'd disappeared shortly after. Going rogue wasn't part of the plan, he knew Teresa would be disappointed with him, but he'd find Teresa's killer faster if he was on his own. Of course it didn't go as he'd planned. Over the next few weeks later he ended up in the same place he was all those years ago. Empty, broken, and alone.

It'd taken him a while before he'd returned to the CBI. He knew not to expect a warm welcome but the team just seemed happy to know he was back and safe.

Jane was laid down on his couch, while the rest of the team was running down Kimberly Ashman, an art teacher at the nearby elementary school, his thoughts dwelling to Red John.

_Jane had imagined this moment happening many times but truthfully never thought that Red John would once again maintain control of the situation by turning himself in. He had placed a call from an old perfume warehouse, asking to speak to Patrick Jane. He remembered being handed the phone, then chaos. He'd witnessed almost every law enforcement in the state of California, drive up to warehouse, men in bulletproof vests, people on walkie talkies, the helicopters blades roaring loudly in the air. Grace hovering by to ensure that he didn't try anything heroic… or reckless. But she shouldn't have worried. Before he could even make his way to the warehouse a man in a navy suit was being escorted out by two FBI agents and a surrounding watch crew. He was ducked into a clichéd FBI issued black sedan then whisked off. He cooperated nicely. Once in interrogation he confessed to all thirty murders in sordid detail. He did request one thing, and while no one thought it wise, strings were pulled to allow Jane this one on one with Red John. This is how he ended in this room, sitting across from the man that had caused him a world of pain._

_Jane walked in, hearing the door click shut behind him. His look on his face impassive in contrast to the stirring of emotions he was feeling ,anger, sadness, relief, confusion, and some slight anxiety. He wasted no time in meeting the gaze of the man who'd brutally slaughtered his family, and countless others. Red John sat opposite him behind an interrogation table seemingly pleased with his arrest. He wore a disgustingly bright orange jumpsuit, chains on his wrists and his ankles, as well as any other device police officials deemed necessary. _

"_What do you want?"_

"_Hello to you too, Patrick." He watched as Jane's face remained as stoic as ever._

_Red John let out a small chuckle. "How's Teresa?"_

_Jane scowled._

"_Finally a reaction. I do have to say Patrick you do have some very good taste in your women. Teresa though was indeed a favorite of mine. Strong, intelligent, a woman with a good moral compass, which is very rare and something I happen to appreciate. Oh and of course very beautiful. Smooth alabaster skin, dark soft hair, delicate rose colored lips and eyes the most unusual shade of gray-green. She must have made a wonderful lover. Tell me… how was she in comparison to Lore-"_

"_Stop." Jane interrupted, his patience wavering thin. "Don't you dare speak about her like that, tell me where she is!"_

"_What's the matter Patrick? Don't tell me you never had a chance to be with your beloved?" He shook his head, tutting. "And as for that last statement I can say I wasn't involved in that." A smirk toying with the edges of his mouth._

'_Where is she? What have you done with her?" He yelled. He was frustrated the taunting and absolute mockery bringing him on edge. _

"_I didn't do anything regarding our dear Teresa's disappearance. If I recall correctly her suitcase and several personal belongings were missing, who's to say that she just didn't decide to leave?"_

"_Because she'd never leave. Not like this." He said hotly. He heard the man opposite him let out a bark of laughter._

"_You're still the same self-absorbed wiseass that never thinks before he acts." Red John leaned forward on his elbows, locking eyes with Jane. "You're so sure of yourself and in your ability to read people so easily that maybe you forget that, that these are just calculated guesses, assumptions, on a person's behavioral habits. And since most of the people you come across are either simple minded murderers or accomplices of murder, it becomes predictable. You become predictable. Therefore you end up being a remarkably good guesser."_

_He took a minute to let that sink in before continuing. "Isn't it possible that you don't know your Teresa as well as you think?"_

_Jane felt his anger bubbling up to the surface, but before he could reach over and strangle this man, Red John craned his neck, signaling a hand to whoever was behind the mirror that he was done. _

"_I for one am very disappointed Patrick. All these years and no progress…But no matter, maybe life shall deem you worthy of a third chance, though I wouldn't hold my breath."_

_Jane stood abruptly blocking Red John path. "Wait. You called me in here because you wanted to talk. You haven't said anything or asked anything of me."_

"_No I got what I needed actually." He turned to give Jane one last glance before he was escorted out. "Goodbye Mister Jane."_

_Running a hand over his face in frustration, Jane stood, deciding he would go see Cho and Rigsby to see if they had any leads on Lisbon's whereabouts. _

_A.N.: I apologize for any mistakes and if it's bad English. Thank you to all that reviewed, this chapter was mainly filler, as I'm not very happy with how it turned out; the next chapter should be up in 3 days and focuses more on Amelia and her story. Thanks once again._


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist**

Chapter 3

Grace was out shopping for a gift for Wayne's kid. She'd yet to find something that really spoke to her and her stomach had already protested loudly at being empty, so she stepped inside a small café to get a bite to eat. Wayne's little boy would be turning two and Sarah ad Wayne were having a party with various members from work and of course their families as guests. Strange as it may be she actually became friends with Ben's mother, Sarah. While no means very close they did happen to share a few common interests so a timid friendship had blossomed. They might have been closer was it not for the fact that Grace's love for Wayne Rigsby never faded, it just seemed to grow stronger every day. And while Wayne and Sarah were split up now, deciding they were better off as friends, she still felt awkward trying to pursue anything.

She finished her food, grabbed her purse and made her way out. She began to walk towards the nearby toy store when she was knocked off her feet. She landed on the ground in the midst of several colorful shopping bags that didn't belong to her.

"Oh my god." She peered up to see a honey blonde colored woman move into her line of sight. "Oh my, I'm so sorry, here let me help you up." The woman stood up and reached a hand out to Grace which she willingly accepted. Brushing herself off, she knelt down to help gather all the bags that were scattered around them. She gathered the handles on them and handed them over.

"Thanks" the blonde woman said. Grace stared at the woman she was as tall, if not slightly taller than herself, slim, and she wore a turquoise blouse, jeans, and dark red velvet flats. The honey blonde pocketed something in her jean pocket before passing Grace a phone, her phone.

"Here this must be yours."

"Thanks." Grace said._ Funny I didn't even hear it fall out._

The woman smiled. "No problem, you sure you're okay?"

Grace nodded. "Not even a single scratch."She tilted her head curiously. "Where were you going in such a hurry?"

The woman shifted to her weight to her other foot, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm really sorry; I'm don't normally bulldoze over people. I was killing some time shopping…" She laughed, lifting her many bags on each arms. "But then I lost track of time and now I'm late picking up my niece." She glanced at her watch, eyes widening, a curse slipping from her lips. She looked up at Grace with a panicked look.

"Shit. Millie is going to kill me." She hurriedly readjusted the many bags on her arms. "I've got to go, sorry for almost running you over." She said flashing her a smile, then turned and ran down the plaza towards the parking lot, almost knocking over an arm-linked couple as she went.

Grace chuckled before continuing on to the toy store she'd been heading to. She also knew now exactly what she was going to get Ben.

'''''''''''''''''

"You're late." Amelia deadpanned, leaning on the doorframe arms crossed, staring at her younger sister disapprovingly.

Her sister winced at her tone. "Oh Millie don't be mad. I promise I really did try!" She said eagerly. "I set up alarms and everything, but then I set them too early so I distracted myself by cleaning my house, gardening, sewing," Here she held up her hand to show her two bandaged fingers. "…ouch by the way, oh and I even called mom. She says hi and that Daddy broke the fireplace again because aunt Susie brought her new set of sweaters over and he decide it was the only way to make them disappear once and for all. And anyway then I still had a ton of time left so I went shopping and I found these adorable…" She trailed off as her sister continued to stare at her unimpressed.

"Umm, so where's my gorgeous niece?" She said nervously, pushing herself and the numerous shopping bags she was carrying past her sister into the house.

Rolling her eyes, Amelia pushed herself off the door frame following her sister inside.

She walked into the living room where her little girl sat on the floor, watching her aunt take out toy after toy from all the shopping bags, with excitement.

Taylor was twenty-nine going on eleven. She had a very bubbly personality but had a bad habit of shopping excessively whenever she was upset or stressed or whenever actually. She also had a degree in architectural design and owned the small bakery in downtown Sacramento that used to belong to their mother, called L'uomo Rosso.

"She's going to be as big a shopaholic as you are when she grows up." She said as she walked by to get to her bedroom. She applied some light lipstick, grabbed her jacket and purse and strolled back into the living room. She smiled as her daughter had taken more interest in a small plush elephant than the other numerous toys around her. She shook her head, wondering where on earth she was going to fit all these toys and books and clothes.

"Millie. She needs all of this." Taylor said going to another corner of the room where she started taking more stuff out of shopping bags. Amelia peered into a bag at her feet pulling out a stack of books.

"She needs thirty-two versions of the same book?"

"They aren't the same. They're in different languages."

"You do know she can barely even talk, much less read right?"

"Well one day she _will._"

Amelia sighed exasperatedly, deciding not to argue further. "Okay fine. I'll see you both in a few hours." She bent to kiss Char's cheek. "Bye, baby girl." She gave her sister's arm a squeeze, and then made her way out the door.

"Say hello to Ryan and Uncle Maurice for me will you?" Taylor called out after her. Amelia waved a hand acknowledging her request, the door clicking shut after her.

She stopped at a red light on her way to her uncle's law firm, feeling out of sorts. Something was nagging her in the back of her mind, she felt like something was supposed to happen, but what? She'd woken this morning in a cold sweat after another nightmare. She recently began to have them; they weren't exactly scary, just creepy and were always the same. She always dreamed of a red hallway and a man at the end of it just watching her. But it was a dream. It had absolutely no merit. She rolled her eyes at herself. _Ridiculous. Nothing was going to happen. _She mentally shook herself of such thoughts, blaming it the dreams on a poor night's sleep and watching too many crime shows before bed. And yet she couldn't shake the bad feeling she felt.

The sudden blare of a honk jarred her from her thoughts. She saw that the light had turned green and moved to hit the gas, when at that moment a man ran directly in front of her car, little too late to prevent herself from hitting him. She watched horrified as he tumbled to the ground.

She hurriedly reached for her phone to call for an ambulance, then rushed out to check on the person she'd hit. She knelt down to the man that was splayed out on his back the asphalt seemingly unconscious. She checked his neck for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief at the steady thrum of his heartbeat beneath her fingers. _Well I guess this is the bad thing that was supposed to happen_.She heard the murmur of conversation as people moved closer making a crowd. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, seeing as no one was actually there to help, just to have something to gossip about later tonight, she glanced back down at the man. He was handsome, though that bruise forming on the side of his head was going to leave an ugly mark. He wore a light blue three piece suit and brown shoes.She saw the flap of his suit was slightly opened, revealing a badge clipped to an inside pocket sleeve. She pulled it out; it had a picture of him with the name Patrick Jane, CBI independent consultant.

Huh. She crinkled her nose in mild confusion. _What kind of consultant wears a three piece suit? _The sound of the ambulance's sirens pulled her attention away from the badge and she backed away slightly letting the paramedics load Jane onto the gurney, and whisk him off to the hospital.

"He'll be fine Mrs. Johnson." Doctor Henson said, reassuringly.

"Oh thank god." She'd filled out an incident report a few hours back and anything else they'd asked of her, then called her uncle rescheduling for later next week and then left a message with Taylor. Thus leaving her waiting patiently to see how Mr. Jane was with the guilt she felt increasing every minute.

"Just a few bumps and bruises, he did seem a little distressed when he came to, so we had to sedate him, as he needs to rest. But we also want to run some more tests just to make sure everything is in check so we'll be keeping him overnight just to be sure."

She nodded. "Thank you, doctor."

"Of course, now if you'll excuse me I have another patient to see." He smiled, and then turned down the hall.

She turned to look through the window to his room, where Mr. Jane lay sleeping. They'd tracked down his team, as he had no family on record, but they'd been a long ways from here chasing down a lead, but had said they'd wrap things up as soon as they could and make their way over. She shifted nervously, wondering what to do now. Should she just leave now, or wait until his co workers arrived? She really had no business being here, she could just go, she'd come back tomorrow to apologize in person and then move on.

She walked into Jane's room grabbing her sweater and purse. She stopped at Jane's bedside; she nervously wrung her fingers together, and then reached over to tuck the blanket better around him, then leaving for the door. She turned back from her spot near the door and glanced back.

"Goodnight." she said.

She turned to walk out but felt a sudden wave of nausea wash over her. She collapsed against the door frame, bringing a hand to her head as images flashed before her.

"_You didn't have to walk me home Jane." _

"_Nonsense. I wanted too. And it's my duty as your male companion for the night."_

"_Oh really?"_

"_And well I certainly couldn't risk letting you drive home after taking you out for drinks." He said with a roguish smile._

_She laughed. "Jane it was hot chocolate."_

"_Meh, poh-ta-toe, po-tah-toe. __"He said waving his hand dismissively grinning as she giggled in response._

_He watched her fiddle with her fingers nervously. "Jane, I…"_

_He reached for her suddenly, pulling her into a hug, before letting her go, his hand sliding down to capture one of hers. "Thank you. For tonight." She cleared her throat, raising an eyebrow at him. "Ah… I mean yesterday and some of this morning."_

"_Of course, Jane." She chuckled softly. He gently caressed her hand with his thumb before squeezing it once then letting it drop back at her side. He turned around making to leave, before spinning back around to face her once more, a soft smile playing on his face. "Goodnight Teresa."_

_She mirrored his soft smile. "Goodnight."_

She let herself fall against the wall she'd leaned on for support. Her skin felt cold and clammy, her heartbeat sped rapidly, and she felt as if everything was spinning. Bringing her knees up she laid her head in between them, willing the nausea away.

"What the hell was that?" She gasped out. She'd seen... something. She'd seen... Damn. She couldn't remember. She tried to remember what she'd seen but came up empty. She laid her head back down closing her eyes. She felt a light tap on her shoulder and looked up to see a nurse kneeled down next to her.

"Are you alright ma'am?" The nurse questioned. "Can I help you up?"

The nurse lent her a hand and she reached for it gratefully. She pulled herself upright, swaying slightly. "I'm fine, just a little dizzy." She said with a strained smile. "Really thank you, but I'll be leaving now." She was extremely flustered, judging this day to be far too long for her liking. She pushed away from the nurse, just desperate to get home.

When she finally arrived home it was to see a box of cheerios knocked over on the kitchen island, Charlene seated on the island as well, feeding her aunt cheerios.

"Hey guys." She saw her daughters face light up when she noticed her mother, reaching out her little arm to give her mommy a cheerio as well. She ate the cheerio given to her then happily picked Charlene up, kissing her nose.

"So how'd it go?" Taylor asked.

Amelia grabbed a handful of cheerios and offered her open palm to her little girl, who gladly took them from her hand. "What do you mean?" Shifting to better hold Charlene o her hip as she had leaned over to look for the cheerio she dropped.

"How'd it go with Uncle Maurice?" Taylor asked, with a mouthful of cheerios. "Tell me he didn't tell the gnome story again." She started to throw cheerios in the air catching them with her mouth, making Charlene giggle.

"Oh I didn't get a chance to see him today." She said purposely avoiding Taylors gaze.

The cereal bounced off Taylor's nose. She frowned looking up at her sister. "Huh? Why not?"

"I kind of got into an accident." She watched as Taylor's eyes widened, searching her for signs of bodily harm. "No, no. I'm fine I meant I caused the accident… Sort of."

Taylor eyes narrowed in confusion. "Okay I'm confused, what happened?"

"I was driving and I stopped at a red light, I didn't see the light go green, and when I did I drove forward, and this… guy appeared out of nowhere and I well… I hit him."

Taylor opened her mouth in shock, and then snorted. "I can't believe you ran someone over. Is he okay? I'm sure the poor guy didn't deserve it no matter what he did to you." She said full out laughing now.

Amelia fixed her with a glare. "That's not funny. He was left with a big bump on his head. Luckily he's fine but I still feel awful."

Taylor patted her leg. "I know, don't beat yourself over it, it was an accident."

"I'm going back tomorrow to apologize in person." She placed Charlene into her booster seat and walked over to her fridge, pulling out some strawberries. "I would have done it today but he was still knocked out from the blow to his head and the medication they gave him." She continued.

"Are you sure the doctor said he was fine? Should we be calling a lawyer?" She said grinning cheekily.

"Want to know something?" She asked as she rummaged through the cupboards, ignoring her sisters questions. "He looked familiar."

Taylor perked up at that. "Familiar? How?"

"I don't know, I think I've seen him before," She trailed off.

"Okay Millie, I don't think that's possible, you haven't been to California in fifteen years. Maybe it was some weird kind of déjà vu. Oh! It could be your long lost lover from some parallel universe."

Amelia chuckled. "Yeah I'm sure that was it."

"So what was his name?"

"Patrick Jane."

"That's a nice name."

"I guess so, he works with the CBI." She added.

Taylor eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "The what?"

"Law enforcement, Taylor."

"Ah, I see." She paused for a moment. "So was he cute?"

Amelia let out a frustrated groan. "Okay stop. We are not going there. Come help me make a salad or something. I'm starving." She heard Taylor laugh. Then felt as she bumped her hip playfully as she went to get some pasta from a cupboard.

They moved around the kitchen in comfortable silence before Taylor spoke up.

"I think I'm going with you tomorrow. I mean sure that's going to be terribly awkward but the way you keep blushing when you talk about him makes me curious as to what this guy looks like. And he's law enforcement…well… sort of… Hey did I tell you that I _too_ ran over a law official? She was a woman but-" She rambled on.

Amelia bit back a groan. She feared for Patrick Jane if Taylor followed through with that statement. Poor Mr. Jane.

Curse Patrick Jane. Damn that infuriating, delusional, bat- crazy man. If she ever saw his face again it'd be too soon.

**A/N: I'm very sorry this wasn't out earlier. I lost someone I loved very much after thanksgiving and I've been a little sad I wasn't in the mood to do much but I finally got around to finish editing this though there might still be a few mistakes, I'm just going to post it like this so I can finish writing/editing the next chapter and post that as well. Thank you again to all that reviewed, you all make my day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist**

Chapter 4

The harsh sound of a woman's high heels echoed into the halls of a mass security prison, as she strode through the labyrinth-like building with ease, gravitating towards the center of the prison. Coming to a stop at a side door, she punched a code in and pushed the heavy metal door open. She walked inside stopping a few feet away from the glass structure before her. It was a craftily made prison cell, clear walls allowing the numerous guards, positioned in a circle around the cell, to keep an eye on the man at all times.

She walked over to the warden who was conversing with another guard. Recognition flashing in his eyes as he saw her walk up, he stood up straighter and excused the guard.

"Ms. Frell." He said.

She nodded in acknowledgment. "Hello." Crossing her arms she hardened her look. "I'm going to have to speak with him alone."

The warden just shook his head an amused smile gracing his face. "I'm sorry ma'am but I'm sure you know I can't authorize that."

"Well then I'm glad I don't really need your authorization." She patted his shoulder turning to address the rest of the guards. "Everyone out, now."

The other guards turned to the Warden, who hesitated before nodding, then one by one the guards lined out.

Pressing a code into the security lock the woman strolled into the transparent cell, stopping a few feet away where a man lay on his back on a cot.

"We have a problem."

The man smiled, seemingly unworried, not bothering to get up. "Yes. Yes we do."

"Grace-"

"No."

"Oh come on, Grace."

"Jane, we are not running a background check on that woman, or DNA tests or anything else."

"Why not, did you even _see_ her? _It's_ Lisbon."

"Jane she was a blonde." Grace replied. She had hoped that he'd let it drop but all he'd done was pester here for the last week on this woman. She was surprised he hadn't found a way to get it done on his own.

"She's wearing a wig, or she dyed it." He said dismissively. "She's als-"

Grace held up a hand to stop any more comments. "Jane no, we're lucky she didn't press charges after what happened. Please don't push your luck."

Jane scoffed. "You all overreacted. Nothing bad happened."

"Yeah, because kidnapping, assault, and setting fire to a hotel isn't bad." Cho said, from his desk.

"That fire wasn't my fault."

_**One week earlier**_

"Was this huge teddy bear really necessary?"

They'd bought some flowers, (_unoriginal yes, but what's the appropriate gift for running someone over?)_, but after purchasing the flowers Taylor had spotted a large chocolate bear and had bought it before Amelia could protest. The bear was pretty adorable, but more for a child than a man in his late thirties. It also kept getting caught on her bracelet.

"Yes Mille. It's so cute and who doesn't want a bear that says, "Feel better beary soon"?" Taylor said gushing.

"Mhmm. If you love it so much then why aren't you holding it?"

"Because I'm carrying Char, silly." She pointed to Char who was hoisted on her hip. "And I wasn't the one that ran over the man so _you _holding it is perfect." She added, giving her sister a pointed look.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "You're so-"

She was cut off as a group of nurses pushed past them, down the hall. She glanced over at Taylor who just looked back at her and shrugged her shoulders. As they neared closer Amelia saw that they were crowded around Patrick Jane's room.

"I wonder what's going on..."

"Well let's find out." Taylor said already walking towards the commotion. As they drew nearer they heard loud voices arguing and some sort of clanging coming from inside the room.

"Jane stop swinging that IV thing like a freaking light saber right now!" A female voice yelled.

"Looks like the bump to head was more severe than you thought…" Taylor whispered behind her.

Amelia glared back at her. "Shut up."

"…Come on Jane it's just a shot." said a male voice.

"Why haven't we tackled him, yet?" added another voice.

Once they neared close enough to the room window they peered in. Taylor tried to hide a snort behind her hand but Amelia heard it anyway. Amelia just stared in confusion at the scene inside the patient's room. Patrick Jane stood, or more like swayed on the spot, in a blue hospital gown, and had somehow moved his hospital bed placing it in between him and the nurses and three other people, holding an IV stand in his hands.

"Well if you're all for it, then why don't you get one?" Jane said.

"Jane stop, Jesus this is ridiculous, get back into bed and let the nurses do their job. Right now." Grace was liable to shoot him where he stood if not for the paperwork and that they'd technically end up right back in the same situation.

"Uh I don't appreciate that tone Grace, I'm not five-"

"Then stop acting like one!" she shot back.

"I am completely fine. I don't need anything, especially some shots." He waved the IV too far back knocking over some medical gear on the counters behind him.

"Oops."

Cho and Rigsby took this opportunity to corner him on both sides, but Jane pushed the bed into Cho, ducked around Rigsby after throwing the IV at him, he pushed past the nurses then ran out the door. Cho ad Rigsby went immediately after him chasing him around the corner. Grace stopped to talk with the nurses before heading out as well, cursing under her breath. "Ma'am the patient needs to be brought-"

Outside the room, Amelia stood in mild shock before walking to down the opposite hall to the exit. She heard Taylor hurried footsteps as she caught up with her. She spared a glance at her and saw that Taylor was biting her lip, body shaking lightly with laughter.

Amelia groaned. "Know what? Let's go and never talk of this again."

She told Taylor to wait with Char in the lobby and she'd bring the car around for them, and walked to the parking lot with the large chocolate bear in hand. She sighed, wondering not for the first time if she should have just stayed in Europe. What was it with her trip back home that had everything going wrong?

Opening the side door to car, she fought to get the bear in. _Idiot, just put it in the trunk. _Brushing her hair behind her ear, she moved to open the trunk, stuffing the bear carelessly in and slamming it shut.

She jumped as she then heard a voice say, "Lisbon."

Jane had escaped to the parking lot after losing the gang at the guys at the elevator. He glanced quickly around the parking lot for any means of escape. He needed to get to his hotel and change. In the distance he saw a petite blond stuffing what seemed to be a large bear into her car.

He turned to eye the fire extinguisher next to him. Quickly coming to a decision, he grabbed the extinguisher, stalked towards the woman. Walking as silently as he could, he moved closer, he raised the extinguisher but then the woman brushed her hair behind her ear, revealing her face to him.

He heart skipped a beat.

"Lisbon?" The woman froze, and then turned to face him. His face scrunched in confusion. It couldn't be. The woman before him couldn't possibly be her. Admittedly there were differences, an obvious one was her being a blonde, but then suddenly the similarities stopped, and he felt his stomach clench. It was like seeing her for the first time. He drank in her appearance, never fully gotten the chance to truly appreciate her beauty, the freckles gracing her nose and cheeks, rose tinted lips, and her eyes that beautiful soft shade of green.

"Mr. Jane, what are you doing here?"

She'd said something. He saw her mouth moving but he couldn't seem to hear her. All he could understand that she was here and alive. _Alive. _He rushed forward and hugged her. He held her as close as he could, but carefully, as some part in him believed, no _feared_ that maybe this was a dream. Held to tight and she might disappear.

"Umm, are you alright?" The blonde asked.

He pulled back, so he was cradling her face tenderly in his hands. "Teresa, you're alive." He stroked a pink cheek, smiling as the familiar blush appeared under his fingertips.

She couldn't help the blush that went to her cheeks, this man was looking at her so intently, and it made her brain go fuzzy. Obviously he was a tad… unstable; he was confusing her with someone else, if the whole Teresa thing was any indication. But he was making her extremely uncomfortable.

Gently she pried his hands away from her face. "I'm sorry but I'm not Teresa. My name is Amelia."

"No."

"No?"

Jane picked her keys from the floor and opened the back door, pulling the bow off the bear then used it to tie her wrists together. "H-hey, what are you doing?"He pushed her into the back seat of the van making sure to hit the children's lock on the door. Ignoring her struggling protests, hooking her tied wrist on the hook above the door, then he shut the door behind her and hurried around the front of the car climbing into the driver's seat.

"What the hell are you doing?" She said angrily, when he got into the car.

"You're alive." He pulled out of the parking lot, and speed out onto the street. "I have no clue how he did it, but I promise you Teresa I'll do everything I can to make you remember."

"I've already told you I'm no-"

Jane held up a hand to cut her off. "I know that's what you believe, but it's all a trick. So spare me any explanations you memorized for him."

Amelia was stuck in a car with a psychotic man. She debated trying tot stop the car somehow but with her luck they'd just end up crashing. Then her thoughts went back to what he'd just told her.

"Wait who's he?"

"Red John."

Her eyes widened as she said, "Red Joh- wait the serial killer?"

Jane eyes darted to hers in the review mirror. "See you know him."

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Of course I know him, everyone that lives here knows him."

"You also know my story too."

"Well, yes, a little." She confessed. Jane raised his eyebrow pointedly.

"But so do other people with access to the internet or a television, I'm not this Teresa person, you're just insane." She added somewhat irritated. She worked the hands from the hook, shaking out her arms to get a bit of the feeling back.

"That is the last thing you should say to someone that you think is insane."

"Smartass." she mumbled under her breath.

Jane smirked, his Teresa was in there. He was absolutely sure of it.

"Look if this is your way of holding a grudge for me running you over I'm sorry. Won't happen again."

"Wait that was you?" When he'd woken up, before the whole incident, he'd been told a car had hit him, causing him to be admitted into the hospital.

She frowned. "Yeah, I'm really sorry about that."

Jane chuckled under his breath. If he knew that was how he could bring Teresa back he might have ran into the streets sooner.

"It's okay. It brought us together again right?"

Amelia bit back a scream in frustration. "Again with that?"

She bit into the ribbon hoping to tear it open, she said through her teeth. "What makes you think I'm her? You know it's possible for two strangers to look alike, right?"

Jane laughed at this. "No. You're voice, the nose, those lips, and…well…" He stopped there, she was pissed enough as it is no need to add fuel to the fire.

"And what?"

He spared a look at her, she was angry obviously but intrigued, she'd been listening this long anyway, maybe she wouldn't kill him.

"That freckle." He nodded his head at her, referring to the small lone freckle on her left breast. She moved her tied hands awkwardly in front of her, covering herself.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."She huffed.

"You're also still a terrible liar." He heard her scoff, making him smile once more. He suddenly made a sharp turn, causing Amelia to fall to the floor of the car. Her glare turned murderous as she blew a puff of air out to get the hair out of her mouth.

"Okay, you need to slow the hell down. What are trying to do get us killed?"

"And you're stilled bothered by my driving skills."

"Oh so you've met someone who isn't?" She bit back.

Jane threw a disapproving look at her. "You've gotten a lot sassier since you disappeared."

"Alright I've had enough." She hit the back of his seat with her feet. "You're an imbecile and I want to get off now."She pulled the ties into her teeth pulling at the stupid ribbon, that just seemed to get tighter the more she messed with it.

"Sorry but I'm not letting you of my sight."

"Don't push me or I'll press charges so severe you won't ever get out."

"I can plead insanity from the head bashing you gave me after running me over."

"And lock yourself up? I doubt you'd do it." She said.

"Okay then how about I press charges for attempted murder?" He was joking of course but that didn't mean he didn't like messing with her a little bit.

"Murder? Of who?"

He turned briefly to send her his most devilish grin. She mouth fell open in shock. He couldn't possibly mean.

"That's absurd! No one would buy that!"

"Want to bet?" He took pleasure in the irritated glare she sent him."Now relax. We're here."

Okay so she'd made a run for it, but she hadn't even gotten to steps before he rushed to her, picked her up and hoisted her over his back. She squirmed, but then he'd told that unless she wanted to tumble down a flight of stairs with him, it'd be best to stay still.

Guiding her into the motel room, after picking the lock, he led her to sit on the edge of the bed. She sat down angrily, while Jane moved to a closet by the door, pulling out a fresh suit. He started to untie his gown when he heard a cough.

He said with that infuriating smirk of his. "I'm gonna need you to close your eyes."

"Shame, I was so looking forward to the show." She said, sarcastically.

He smiled sheepishly. "Well in reality I don't mind. Nothing you haven't seen before."

She rolled her eyes at him before she closed her eyes. "I hate you."

In the distance they heard sirens. Jane froze, in the middle of buttoning his shirt. He walked backwards to the door, turning only for a second to look through the peephole.

"Oh thank god. It took them long enough." Amelia said.

"I take offense to that."He pouted, forgetting she couldn't see him.

She let out a laugh. "Good."

Suddenly there came the sound of a blast from below. Amelia eyes shot open and she raced to the window, Jane joining her mere seconds later. Amelia watched as her car was in flames, the fire spreading slowly to the hotel. She shot an accusing glare a Jane but Jane just looked extremely confused.

"You set my car on fire." She said slowly.

He whirled his head around to meet her gaze. "Umm no, that was not me." He held his hands up defensively, as she stalked forward. He really hadn't, but then who had? And when did they get the chance…

She punched his nose, sending him reeling back a couple of steps. Jane held up a hand trying to stop for coming after him again but she just continued to back him into the wall.

"Hey calm down Lisbon. I swear-" He stepped around her heading for the opposite side of the room.

"Stop it! I'm not Lisbon, or Teresa or whatever." she spat angrily,

"Oh please except for the hair you're a carbon copy."

Her eyes narrowing into slits, he backed up more feeling his calves hit the edge of the bed. She stalked after him, and swung her hands once more, but he caught her hands before they collide into his face. Unfortunately she lost her footing and she stumbled into him, knocking them both onto the bed.

Of course this is the exact moment the police walk in on them.

"Thank you Ms. Johnson once again for not pressing charges." Grace said as she led Amelia out of a conference room.

"Of course."

"It's alright; I just never want to see that man again." She said with a bitter laugh.

Grace nodded understandably, "Jane will be sure to keep his distance, he's gonna be spending a day or two in the hospital any way."

Amelia nodded, shaking hands with Grace before walking down the hall to meet her awaiting sister and daughter.

Rigsby and Cho moved to stand next to Grace, all three watching the reunion with interest.

"She looks like her doesn't she?" Cho said.

Grace glanced at the two men, and not saying anything walked back to her desk. Jane had a point but that point was null and void. As much as it still pained them all to admit, Lisbon was dead, they'd buried her themselves and they couldn't let Jane go back down that dark road.

Surely he'd forget about it sooner or later.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Mentalist**

Chapter 5

She was reduced to hiding behind some scantily clad mannequins in Victoria Secret at the mall, not the best of places to hide she'd admit, but it was either Victoria Secret or risk getting caught by Jane.

Amelia breathed out a sigh of relief when she saw the familiar powder blue suit walk past the store. She stepped out from her hiding place, looking around to make sure Jane hadn't turned back around. At least this was close enough to an exit as she was ready to just finally get home.

Patrick, or Jane as he stubbornly insisted she to call him, had appeared at the mall, sticking to her side like a lost puppy, badgering her about some DNA test, before he randomly switched topics and began to ask her about her life. Odd things actually, like her favorite color, what did she think of eggs, how many brothers did she have, stuff that really just served to irritate her more.

Grumbling she walked away from Victoria Secret only to stop a few feet away as a familiar voice suddenly spoke from the speakers above her.

oOoOoOo

"…. Oh that is so sweet. Congratulations sir, she sounds like a very lovely woman." The perky brunette gushed as she led Jane to one of the back offices. The young female manager had melted at his proposal and had immediately agreed to help him out.

Jane grinned devilishly, he was sure she wouldn't appreciate this, but he was never one to really question his actions, so why start now?

"So I just use this button and that's all?" Jane asked gesturing to the panel in front of him. The woman nodded her head in approval.

Jane threw her a radiant smile, making the young woman flush a rosy pink. "Thank you Lucy, you've been very helpful."

oOoOoOo

"_Can I have your attention folks? My name is Patrick Jane and I have a message for my dear Teresa. See she kind of escaped my grasp before I was able to ask her something very important…"_

Amelia thought briefly of how much time she'd do if she killed a consultant.

"… _so really what I'm trying to say is… Sweetheart will you marry me?"_

She groaned out loud. _Great. He'd gotten on the speakers. How the hell did that happen anyway? _

"_Could someone make sure that the beautiful blonde in the turquoise dress next to the carousel doesn't escape?" _Jane let out a hearty laugh. _"She's a bit of a fighter."_

She looked around in confusion before realizing she had gravitated towards the kids carousel ride, near the food court. She also felt the many stares of the people around her. _Seriously, was there no one else wearing a turquoise dress?_ Feeling completely out of her comfort zone with everyone looking at her, she started to back away on a direct route to the nearest mall exit when she was stopped by an elderly couple.

The older woman smiled kindly at her, reaching for her hand and gently patting it. "Congratulations sweetie. Your fiancé sounds like such a wonderful man who seems very much in love with you."

"Oh no, he's not my fiancé, he's just-…" She protests, but the woman cuts her off.

"Nonsense! Life is too short, don't you let that man go, especially when he's as handsome as he is."

Amelia's brow creased in confusion. "What? How do you know that?" She asked. The older woman just nodded her head to something behind her.

Amelia followed the elderly woman's gaze behind her, seeing Jane striding towards her confidently with a pretty impressive bouquet of lavender roses in his hands. One of her favorite kind of roses actually she realized.

"Uh, will you excuse me?" She said to the woman as she quickly raced to Jane's side grabbing him harshly by the edge of his waistcoat and pulled him out near a nearby exit, ignoring the protests the made as he was dragged behind her out to the parking lot.

"What the hell is wrong you?" She spat angrily, once they had made it outside, still with a firm grip on his suit.

He pried her hand away from his suit, the confident smile from earlier still in place, but now accompanied by an impish glint in his eyes. "I'm not going to leave you alone until I help you get your memory back."He paused here to throw her a sheepish smile. "And you found a pretty good hiding place so the monitors were helpful in finding where you were."

She looked at him disapprovingly, shaking her head.

"Pa-Jane, you need to stop this stupid notion that you have, with me being this Teresa person. Go home, I'll even give you the ride home myself if you'll just agree to end things right here and now." She pleaded.

"Well that's tempting Teresa, but no thanks." He pushed the large bouquet of flowers into her hands. "Oh and these are yours milady… or should I say fiancé? You still haven't given me a clear answer."

She pushed the flowers back to him, shaking her head. "Thanks but I can't accept these. And would you quit it with that name crap? My _name_ is Amelia."

Jane shook his head stubbornly. "No I don't think so. I like Teresa."

She scoffed. "Fine have it your way, I'm leaving now." Without thinking, Jane reached out to stop her by grabbing her arm, pulling her back to him.

She glared icily at the offending body part, before turning the glare up at his face. "Let me go."

He opened his mouth to respond when a voice from behind them spoke.

"Hey! What's going on here?"

They both turned their head to see a tall stoic like man in a dark navy suit. His face was fixed into a glare showing he wasn't happy with the little scene in front of him. Amelia frowned, meeting Jane's glance once before looking back at the man. He looked familiar… or maybe not, hard to say these days as everything felt so out of order.

"Is he bothering you, miss?"The man asked, never talking his eyes off of Jane.

She stares blankly at him before realizing he was speaking about Jane. "O-oh …yes I'm fine. He was just leaving." She said with a small shove to Jane, getting some much needed space between them.

The man eye's narrowed, not fully buying it but after some slight hesitation, continued on.

"See? It's creepy…" She waves a hand in between them."... this thing you do. Even random people are noticing." She starts to fish in her pockets for her keys. "Okay now I seriously have to go..." She hurriedly pushed past Jane but lost her footing when he once again tried to pull her back. She landed on the ground with a small yelp. "Ow."

The man turned around at the noise, taking one look at Amelia on the ground and Jane standing above her before coming up with his own conclusions.

Jane chuckled nervously, holding his hands up in his defense. The man watched as Amelia righted herself swatting away the hand Jane held out to help her up, before he walked up to Jane, backing him into the concrete pillar behind them. "You think it's funny to lay a hand on woman? Harass them?" Emphasizing each point with a harsh finger to Jane's chest.

"Hey, listen it's aright. He wasn't-…" She stopped as Jane landed a fist to the man's face, wincing as he did so, and ran out, dropping the flowers by her side as the other man chased after him.

_Well that got out of hand pretty quickly. Who the hell was that guy? _She thought to herself, pulling out her phone she dialed a number she'd been prompted to add just a few days ago.

"Hi Agent Rigsby…"

oOoOoOo

She saw Jane the following day in the grocery store.

"Lisbon."

She let out a huff in exasperation. She couldn't say she was surprised; the man was a stubborn as they come, but this was getting ridiculous.

"If this keeps up, I'm following through on that restraining order Mister Jane." She said with a smirk, not bothering to turn around. She looked up to see the brand of sugar she needed on the top shelf and sighed internally, she was never bothered by her height, but it was times like these that really made her think of how short she must be, if getting sugar was a problem. Going on her tippy toes, laying a hand on one of the lower shelf to steady herself, she reached a hand up to get it, when a hand snaked up and grabbed it easily off the shelf for her putting it into the basket.

"Thanks, so how's the eye?" She turned around to finally face him and bit down a gasp as she saw the darkened blue and purple bruise on the corner of his left eye, and the small cut on his left cheek as well.

He took her concerned expression in stride, chuckling lightly. "Not as bad as it looks, I swear…not that you care or anything." He added teasingly.

"I don't." She said, pushing past him to the next aisle.

"Whatever, you say."He murmured in response, happily trailing after her. "I accept that as your apology, as this is your fault."

She rolled her eyes, not bothering respond; instead she added some strawberries and blueberries into her basket. She smiled as she remembered how much she'd craved blueberries during her pregnancy, so much that she'd almost driven her family insane, with the many midnight runs for blueberries.

Jane touched her arm gently, turning her around, breaking her from her thoughts. He held up a finger before using his other arm to fish for something inside his suit jacket.

"Here." He held out a blank white letter, with the name Teresa written on the front.

She stared blankly unimpressively at the letter. "It's not addressed to me so I can't take that."

"Oh okay." He threw the letter into a nearby trash can then wandered off down the aisle, leaving the petite blonde staring after him completely caught off guard.

Walking slowly in the opposite direction to the checkout lines, she almost turned back to say something but realized she didn't care, not much anyway. It was too easy. He was baiting her. Besides it wasn't as if she was burning with curiosity, with whatever he might have written. She wasn't. Knowing whatever little she did about him it was better that he threw it out. The stupid letter wasn't even for her but for her doppelganger. Glancing around for any signs of him she ignored the small feeling of disappointment as she couldn't find him.

"Thought I'd left right?"

She jumped nearly a mile high. "Damn it Jane! Don't do that!"

He just smiled that infuriating smirk of his. "Don't be angry, you're still going home with something, just hold on a sec." He pulled another envelope out, blank this time, and handed it to her.

"Better?"

She opened her mouth but couldn't come up with anything to say. This man was awakening very foolish feelings she didn't want. Though she'd be lying if she said that their banter wasn't something she'd grown used to and somewhat enjoyed, but he was infuriating at best and right now she had enough pride left to not accept the letter. She'd done this whole thing before and it hadn't ended well. Sure she wouldn't take back what gave her the single thing she loved most, her little girl, but she had no desire to live out another ridiculous love triangle.

"Put that away I'm not taking it."

"Well I guess if you won't take it I'll open it myself and read it out loud, I'm sure you won't have a problem with that." She snatched it quickly from him before he could say anything more and turned her herself away. Damn this man and the way he was able to push all her buttons at once.

"Are you going to leave me alone now?" She asked.

He chuckled. "Yes I'm leaving." But he made no move to leave instead he moved closer, close enough that she felt her traitorous heart beat faster. His knuckles brushing softly on her forearm leaving goose bumps in their wake as he leant towards her ear whispering, "You look really good today. Green suits you."

Then he smiled at her, one of those warm smiles that made her feel as if she was his world, so much that she couldn't help but lean away from him her eyes dark, flashing with the familiar annoyance. "Stop that."

What?" He asked his voice laced with all variations of innocence but his bright eyes betrayed him making it clear that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"Stop being so damn charming one minute and then a complete wacko the next." She snaps. "It freaks me out."

"What's the matter? Can't control your urges?" He said with a knowing smirk.

"I have an urge all right…" _To smack that stupid smirk off his face._

Out of the blue Jane's phone rang interrupting them. She heard a loud voice rambling off to him, then watched as Jane whipped his head around before spotting something in the distance and without even bothering with a goodbye he left. Leaving Amelia to just shake her head and step back in line.

oOoOoOo

Later that night, Amelia paced the bedroom with Charlene in her arms, half rocking her daughter to sleep and half fighting the urge to open the letter that sat on the nightstand. She watched as her daughters eyes finally succumbed to sleep and fluttered close, the day spent with her aunt no doubt leaving her exhausted. Kissing her daughter's forehead she settled Charlene into her crib, tucking a blanket over her tiny tummy, and then quietly tiptoed out of the room, grabbing the envelope and shutting off the lamp on her way out.

In her room she set the letter on her bed while she walked into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Stalling as much as she could by flossing twice, brushing her hair, making sure all the items on the counter were neat and straightened before walking out.

With a heavy sigh she snatched the letter from her duvet, and plopped down on the edge of her bed, carefully sliding a finger under the flap opening the letter and pulling out a single piece of folded stationary paper. She tucked her feet under her, getting comfortable and began to read.

_Amelia,_

_When you finally give in and read this…_

oOoOoOo

Florida

A woman in her late fifties sat in the living room of her mansion in southern Florida. She sighed as she thought of how empty and alone her house seemed without the sounds of her now full grown children and their children. It seemed- to her at least- that she was getting to that point in life where she might be on the brink of selling the house and going to Vegas to become a blackjack dealer, just for the heck of it.

She was interrupted from her thoughts as her maid Jackie walked in. "Here you go ma'am, I brought you some tea. I thought you could use some." Jackie said smiling kindly while handing her a pale blue tea cup and saucer.

The woman took a grateful sip, before she saw a letter next to teapot, on the silver tray "What's this Jackie?"

Jackie hit her head playfully rolling her eyes at herself. "Oops, sorry ma'am..." She picked up the letter and handed it to her, exchanging the letter for the tea in her mistress' hands. "…this came for you in the mail. I'm afraid it doesn't have any sort of name or return address though."

A timer in the distance pinged. "Oh, that'll be the blueberry muffins. Anything else I can do?" She asked.

The woman shook her head and waved Jackie off, leaving her alone to open the mysterious letter. There was nothing on the letter minus her name written in blood red ink, in the center of the envelope. Surrendering to her curiosity she grabbed the envelope opener Jackie had graciously left for her on the tray and opened it.

Tears coming to her eyes as she read the words written on the page, she reached over for the phone on the table next to her, quickly dialing her husband's number.

"Hello?"

"Sweetheart, how soon do you think we can leave for California?"

oOoOoOo

Jane stirred from his sleep-like state, sometime after midnight to the light buzzing of his phone. He felt around his bed grabbing it from under his pillow and answered the call without bothering o see who it was.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Hey, Patrick."

He checked the clock on his phone, noticing the late hour with a smile. He hadn't been expecting to hear from her so soon.

"And what has you up at this hour, Amelia?" He stressed her name, and he got the response he hoped for, a light chuckle sounded through the phone.

"Okay, I'll do it."

"Okay?" He was careful to keep his voice steady, he was wary to hope. But he didn't have to worry as she immediately reassured him, uttering a single word that shook him to the core.

"Yes."

**A.N. Very sorry for the long update, this chapter didn't seem to want to be written and is also a bit silly but should make more sense later. And might have a couple mistakes, but I am posting this as is because I felt I needed to update something and Thank you again to all that review and follow and that take their time to read this story you are all wonderful for indulging me. And I do my best to promise to work on updating sooner **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist, or anything you may recognize.**

Chapter 6

"… _Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"..."_

"_I didn't know you could sing." She interrupted, the soft hum of her voice reverberated on his naked chest where she too lay naked, blissfully listening as he serenaded her._

"_You never asked."He replied with a soft smile, his own voice a throaty whisper. _

_She hummed in agreement, moving over until she once again straddled his lap taking him inside her with one swift movement of her hips. Deep, breathy ragged moans filled the air, both completely seduced by the feel of their bare skin pressing against each other. Two souls reconnecting for tonight, she was his, and he was hers until the morning dawn when they'd return to their everyday lives. Simultaneous cries broke free in the night, and coming down from their high, the lovers lay still once more, huddled close in a an intimate embrace._

"_Tell me this night won't end...Promise me..."The whisper a plea as much as it was an honest request._

_He stroked her rosy parted lip with a thumb, before leaning down to capture her lips with his own for a quick searing kiss. "I can't promise you this…I won't ever lie to you... Not again..."_

"_Then what do you promise me?"She replies with a shaky breath._

_His response is immediate._

"_A future... where we date, we go out on dates, where we will get married- because if you think I'm going to let another man take what is mine I'll let you know now I'm a very jealous man- and where we'll have a baby… if you want one. I think we'd make a very beautiful baby, it'd be smart and beautiful, it'd probably like sports and coffee like you but that's okay… I could teach it a few harmless tricks...or maybe not. And after you've retired and when we're old and gray we'll spend our days on the front patio of our house… We'll sip tea and watch as our grandkids play in our front yard. What do you think?"_

_She smiled then, that one smile that was just for him, the one that meant nothing else mattered but them. "I want you," she said simply. "…and everything else you want too."_

oOoOoOo

"… _Stars shining bright above you, night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"..."_

Amelia awoke the following day to a pleasantly warm and sunny morning, a mouthwatering aroma filling the air, and accompanying it was a beautiful singing voice. A wondrously sexy male singing voice, singing as a lover would serenade his only love. Letting out a contented sigh, she relaxed further into her sheets, furrowing further into her pillow, and the warmth of her bed, allowing the mysterious man to sing her back into a dream world.

_Wait, what?_

Her eyes shot open, and she sat upright, flinging the sheets off her, fighting momentarily as the sheets tangled slightly with her legs. Her heartbeat was racing as she ran to her daughter's room then the room down the hall where her sister was currently residing, panic settling in as both were disturbingly vacant.

"_Birds singing in the sycamore trees… Dream a little dream of me…"_

She froze as she heard the twinkling laughter of her little girl and rushed in the direction of the laughter, where it led her past the dining room and the living room all the way to her kitchen. Skidding to an abrupt stop in the entryway of the kitchen, feeling the overwhelming rush of relief, her body slumping against the counter, she glared icicles at all the patrons in the room.

Her eyes burning a hole into the one person who still hadn't realized she was in the room, she cleared her throat and watched as he finally turned around and his face lit up like a child on Christmas and damn it if it didn't leave her with butterflies in the pit of her stomach. This man was going to be her undoing. Still smiling that bewitching smile, Jane took in her state of dress-or _undress _as that thin and short t-shirt she was wearing didn't cover much-and met her eyes with a certain sparkle of familiar mischief.

She cursed the flush that mounted her cheeks as she couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay I know I said we would do this, but don't you think it's ridiculous, not to mention presumptuous of you to appear in my kitchen…" She eyed him up and down noting that he was holding a spatula and a hideous pale yellow apron that she was almost positive she had never bought. "… The following morning _after _our conversation, making pancakes for my traitor of a sister and my daughter?"

"Well in Charlene's case she eating cheerios and pancakes." He glanced over at the beautiful dark haired baby, who was being fed a small morsel of a blueberry pancake by her aunt. "… but she seems to favor my pancakes." He shot her a smug smile that only succeeded in having one word flash through Amelia's head.

_Smartass._

Taylor moaned in delight as she took a bit of her own stack of pancakes as she waved her sister over excitedly to sit next to her. "Millie, these are delicious, and they're you're favorite, blueberry! Come here sit." She was seated at the table in teeny tiny cotton shorts with smiley faces on them and a red tank top, her honey colored tresses pilled in a loose bun atop her head, seemingly quite at ease with their guest, and also completely oblivious to the death glare her sister was throwing her way.

Amelia walked over to her sister slapping her on the arm, earning her a pout from Taylor as the fork missed her mouth. "And you, what the hell are you doing letting strange men into my house?"

Taylor light eyes shone innocently up at her as she held her hands up. "Hey, in my defense Grace popped by earlier with him and said he'd behave if I just let him talk to you." She plopped another bite of pancake in her mouth. "So I let him in and you took forever in waking up, so he decided to make breakfast. You should say thank you."

And inflate his already huge ego? No thanks, she'd sooner swallow a rock.

She rolled her eyes, telling Taylor to chew with her mouth close before walking back over to Jane. He didn't acknowledge her presence, in fact if it weren't for the small curl of his lips she would have believed he was too engrossed in flipping blueberry pancakes, then placing them on the ever growing stack on the plate of pancakes next to him.

Setting down the spatula, he broke off a piece and offered it to her, inches away from her mouth. Her eyes shot to him then the piece of food before she grabbed the piece from him and took the bite herself, ignoring his soft chuckle, and dismissing the fact that this was probably the best pancake she'd ever had.

Seeing his expectant gaze on her she swallowed before saying, "its okay."

He grinned as he clearly saw through her lie. "Uh-huh."

Shifting uncomfortably under his gaze she cleared her throat and tried to school her features, "Can you promise me something? Can we go slowly, with this whole thing please? I'm willing to do whatever you want, but remember this… is going to take a bit of an adjustment."She shot him a pleading look.

Jane nodded a little wisp of hair falling to the middle of his forehead and she resisted the strong urge to brush it away. "Sure, anything you want."

His letter had been extremely clear towards what his intentions were. All he asked was for a chance, a chance to either reunite him with this Teresa Lisbon, or give him some closure. And while she herself she could still argue some differences, like the idea he had (okay he hadn't said it outright but it was implied.) that Charlene was somehow his (the timeline was all sorts of wrong for that to be true)and that her whole family had been either hypnotized or were all playing some ingenious role in building a really intricate fake life, she could admit to some similarities, like the her features, the thing with the flowers, the way she had no patience for any sort of puzzles, her passion for smoothies, her favorite book, her daughters love of bunnies and a few others things he mentioned in his letter… he also might have cleared up why she loved carnivals.

All of which had been enough for her to throw caution to the wind and call him that very night to tell him he had a deal. She'd never forget how he seemed to light up, even through the phone, at her response and at her immediate agreement to get started as soon as he wished, as long as they kept it to themselves first. She just hadn't assumed that "soon" meant the following morning.

"Thanks." She said, smiling gratefully.

Besides there was no way in he'd deny her anything now. Whatever she wanted she'd get, on a damned silver platter if she asked. He was just happy that he'd gotten her to agree to help him. He'd done the main part by having her curiosity piqued enough to agree to this, anything else was

Jane nudged her shoulder playfully. "So does that mean you don't want your pancakes?"

She gave him an exaggerated eye roll, grabbing a plate and handing it to him. "Serve me, wonder boy."

oOoOoOo

"You what?!" She hissed.

Jane didn't answer instead deflecting her question with one of his own. "Has Taylor always had a short attention span? Because that's all I managed to get when I hypnotized her this morning."

He had indeed tried to hypnotize the bubbly younger sister, but was completely dumbfounded when she seemed to snap out of the trance (if she'd ever been in one in the first place) quite easily. He hadn't expected it not to work, he was a pro after all, and everyone fell for his well disguised tricks. He even tried charming some basic information out of her but she'd just laughed and told him to keep his nosy self in check. Resorting to him abandoning the rapidly sinking ship and joining Taylor in entertaining little Charlene until her mother woke.

At least it further hardened his resolve to find out more about how Red John was able to pull this off.

"Wait, so it didn't work?"

Jane sat on the coffee table across from where Amelia was seated on her couch, in a white blouse and navy shorts, her feet folded under her. "No it didn't. Told me I was lucky I was hot otherwise I'd be one hundred percent be committed." He let out a scoff. "But never mind, we just need to keep an open mind and we'll find some other way."

Amelia brushed a strand of hair back before she drew her bottom lip between her teeth in a nervous habit. "Jane remember you also have to keep an open mind, there's only a chance of this whole dilemma has any merit I don't want you to be too disappointed if we don't find anything."

He stared into her eyes seeing the caution and doubt in them and he placed a hand over one of hers giving it a squeeze. "I know, and I will, but I _am_ hardly ever wrong and I'm willing to take the chance."He let go of her hand, albeit reluctantly. "Now are you ready?"

She nodded her head slowly pulling her feet out from under her as Jane had her lay longwise on the couch. She'd have laughed at how cliché this was if it weren't for Jane's carefully concentrated and completely serious expression.

"Alright just focus on your breathing, easy slow breaths in and out. I need you to relax your body one part at a time, very slowly, beginning from your head and down… think of a wave of pure sereneness washing you over again and again until you're completely relaxed, the only thing constant will be my voice…just focus on that … focus on it… "

_She focused on his voice, feeling herself drift away into his trance…_

"_How do you feel?"_

"_Okay."_

"_What is your first name?"_

"_Amelia."_

"_What is your daughter's name?"_

"_Charlene."_

"_Where are you?"_

"_Sitting on a couch, talking with you."_

_Further into the hypnosis she felt groggy, her head feeling as if a thousand cottons balls were blocking the pathway between something … something suppressed… *_

"_Where were you six months ago?"_

_She hesitates, just for a moment before she speaks, "Paris."_

"_Where were you ten months ago?"_

"_Rome."_

"_Where were you eleven months ago?"_

"_Paris."_

"_Again?" She gives a slight nod._

_It's his turn to hesitate and while he does she feels head swim, odd flashes of moments between people she doesn't recognize and faraway voices run fleetingly through her mind until it starts to focus on one...But then Jane speaks…_

"_What did you do in Paris?"_

_She's able to respond immediately as she fights to make out what she sees…_

"_I lived there."_

"_How long?"_

_And then she saw it... or him… They were inside some factory, vacant and probably abandoned from the looks of it. The man sat on a lone chair across from a woman... A pretty petite brunette, her beauty marred by the stricken look on her face. She seemed to plead with the man... She heard the next two words she spoke,_

"_I can't…"_

_Jane having no notion to what was happening grew confused by this outspoken statement…_

"_Cant what, darling?" _

"_I can't go through with this."_

_"Yes you can you don't have any other choice and you know that."_

_Seeing as she still stood there silently, still on the verge of tearing their arrangement, he continued. "They'll kill them…they'll kill him and then they'll expose you and the secret we're hiding. And as much fun as it'd be to see Patrick Jane get what he so befittingly deserves I'd prefer to leave that matter to myself…_

_Her voice trembled as she couldn't bear to hear anymore. "Just stop... I will find another way. This ends here." _

"_A way that doesn't leave your loved ones buried ten feet in the ground? They hold all the cards and the power Teresa and they won't hesitate to get you out of their way..."He stands, closing in on her side of the room._

"…_but if you honor our deal, they'll be safe, not only from me but from them. That's why you came to me, remember? You sought me out and made the deal. And I expected you to keep it. This sudden wave of apprehension isn't like you, so tell me…what is really bothering you Teresa... tell me what has changed since our last little escapade? "_

_His dark steel eyes bore into her own troubled green ones, watching steadily as she wordlessly placed a shaking hand over her torso, her eyes swimming with tears, the anxiety and desperation in her expression telling him all he needed to know._

_His face quirked up in a half smile. "Well… isn't this a turn of events."_

…_..._

"Hey... Hey... it's alright... Shh..."

Amelia blinked her eyes slowly open, the harsh glare of sunlight streaming from the full length windows of her living room, taking her by surprise. She felt as if ages had gone by, she also felt the memory of what she'd just seen slip away even as she desperately tried to remember something, any detail at all, about it. Her eyes focusing she saw that Jane had moved from his spot to her side, to kneel in front of her, a warm calloused hand cupping her cheek, while the other gripped her arm gently yet still firmly from where he'd probably been trying to wake her from the trance.

Her eyes sought out his before she closed them once more, lifting a hand to her head.

"What happened?" She gasped out.

Jane sighed deeply putting some space between them but leaving a hand over one of hers. He was slightly shaken but more than anything he realized that seeing the love of his life become so distressed by what he'd proposed, no matter if it hadn't known what this would do, was disconcerting. "You froze. You were answering things just fine and then you lost me…"

She saw the pained expression along with the flash of guilt in his eyes and felt to obliging need to reassure him. "Hey…I'm okay you know."

He swallowed the large lump in his throat, giving her a half smile in response. "I'm sorry it must have triggered something. It's never done that and well …" Letting out a heavy sigh, he stood up and strode over to the windows. "Should've known it wasn't going to be easy...Did you happen to see anything though? Doesn't matter what it was, anything could help."

She froze. She couldn't tell him about these… memories, could she? Well actually she couldn't _really _tell him, since she didn't even know for sure if these were memories or some sort of weird hallucinations. It was really grating on her nerves that she couldn't even remember anything from any of these visions. She'd just have to wait until she could clearly recall one, or some small detail of one, before she inadvertently got his hopes up. Now just to come up with an excuse. "I, uh..." She cleared her throat. "Nothing happened… I probably just panicked or somehow lost focus…"

He opened his mouth to speak but she held up a hand to cut him off before he could.

"Patrick its fine," She got up and walked in the direction of her bedroom, calling out as she went, "… it just means it's time for plan B."

oOoOoOo

"One week." It was the end of the world clearly.

"One week." Jane repeated.

"Jane?" Amelia hesitated in reminding him that they'd been told that it could take up to a _minimum_ of one week, something told her it wouldn't help calm his already frazzled demeanor.

"… backlog my... toying with us…" Jane continued mutter darkly under his breath as he led the way out.

She stared after him worriedly as she tried to keep up with his longer strides, laying a hand on his arm hoping to calm him a bit. "Jane, it's just one week…seven days… one hundred and sixty-eight hours." She said with a joking smile. "Besides it would have made this all too simple and we already saw that this is going to take more than a few tricks."She let go of his arm as they continued to walk out of the building. "… also I was hoping we could go over some stuff anyway."

He raised an eyebrow, sending her a perplexed look. "Stuff?"

"Yes, stuff." She moved to stand in front of them, stopping them both short of the exit, folding her arms. "… or did you really think I'd sit here patiently, while you did all the work?"

He looked at her dumbly. "Uh… yes."

She laughed, turning to walk straight out of the building, Jane jogging a bit until he ended up right beside her once more. "Well no I don't plan to sit at your side, like your personal lap dog…" She paused for a moment as Jane opened the passenger door to his car letting her in. "So did my other self like this car? Because this thing terrifies me, on the way over here I was sure you were going to crash. Who the hell taught you to drive so fast?"

Jane rolled his eyes, careful to make sure she didn't catch him. "No, actually you didn't. You always thought that I drove reckless and that my beautiful Citroën or "death trap" as you so kindly called it, needed to die a quick and easy death." He shut the door and rounded the car climbing in, nostalgic smile on his face, as he posed his next question. "But now back to the other thing. What kind of stuff do you wish to know?"

She opened her mouth then closed it before opening it again, "Well anything, and _everything_. Just… tell me about myself. Apart from what you said in the letter." Really she just hoped that with more information she'd be able to connect it to the next flashback. "…I'd just like to see how much more of a lie you think I've been living. We don't have to go so in depth right now... just random little facts."

Jane took a deep breath lifting a hand to run through his curls. "Alright, biography on Teresa part one…" He started the car, deciding on taking the longer route back to her house.

"You worked for the CBI-like the FBI but better located for your convenience-an agent actually,"

"So I'm a cop. That's sexy." She murmured, her lips curling into a smirk when Jane glanced over at her.

He smiled back. "Very."

Is it so bad, that she swooned the tiniest bit, when he smiled back?

"Okay what else?"

He hummed thinking for a bit, taking his time to answer. "You have a very serious relationship with coffee. You like animals but your job hours never allowed you to have one. You like chocolate but in moderation, if you had a craving for sweets it'd probably be gummy bears… or cheesecake. You love apples and strawberries, you have a shampoo that's your favorite that smells very strongly of strawberries and you were sour for a whole month when they discontinued it, until Grace gifted you with a new set and that's how you two became attached at the hip, which brings us to the fact that you had a very strict work relationship with your co-workers- completely your own silly idea- but that faded over time. You like wine and tequila. You have a soft spot for flowers, you like them all but you appreciate the ones that aren't so traditional. You secretly adore the children's series _Madeline. _You have three brothers, all younger and _taller_-,"

"Hey!" She quipped. He only smiled wider before continuing.

"… I've only met your one niece, Annabeth or Annie as she prefers to be called. She admired you a lot. … or she still does I guess I should say…" he trailed off.

"What about her grandparents… my parents?" She asked innocently.

Jane stiffened for a fraction of a second, sparing a fleeting glance at her before turning back to the open road.

"They're fine."

He said it with a definiteness that made it clear that it was a discussion for another time, and she could certainly respect that, even it made her a little curious. Her thoughts wandered to her own parents. Her father's birthday was the following weekend and true to tradition they were hosting a huge party. She'd missed the one last year and the previous year, sadly. Her parents had understood but she remembered feeling extremely guilty, she honestly couldn't remember how'd she had gotten so busy, to not even be able to make a weekend trip. She adored her family and was glad that she was closer to them now, literally.

"Hey, Jane?"

"Yes?"

But something was still nagging at the back of her mind. He had hinted of course and she could also guess that he probably wouldn't be doing any of this unless Teresa Lisbon had been someone he'd been awfully close too, "You also said that work relationships… that the boundaries blurred…" and there had been the last paragraph of the letter… as well as the shadow on his left ring finger from what she assumed once resided a wedding band… she had a right to ask, she just wasn't sure how much she wanted to know. The thought made her feel somewhat fidgety. "…so where did that leave us, exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"Nope, sorry I don't."

"Don't make me say it"

He shrugged. "Okay."

She waited all of two minutes before she cracked. "Fine, how close were we?"

"What do you think?"He took his eyes off the road momentarily to send her a wink, his eyes roaming over body hungrily.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I think if you stare at me like a piece of meat again, like you just did now, I will break every bone in your body. Besides that not what I meant." She tapped her bare ring finger and nodded to the thin shaded circle on his questioningly. "Did you and Teresa get secretly hitched or is there a wife waiting for you somewhere that I should now about?"

True to his nature, he evaded the question, opting to be guided by his insatiable hunger. "Hungry?"

"A little…" She said blushing when a grumble rumbled up from her belly. "But Jane, why won't-"

He shushed her, making a swift left turn. "Great, I know of a place you'll love…"

oOoOoOo

Arriving to his house Cho opened his cell phone to see he had a missed call and a pending voicemail.

"_Hello Kimball Cho this is your damsel in distress that was still locked in her tower…I decided to run off with a dragon and am informing you of our upcoming wedding through this phone call…." _A pause before giggling was heard. _"Kidding! Hey sweetie it's me Summer, I just wanted to call to tell you I'll be visiting in two weeks, so I expect you to be a gentleman and allow me to take you out for dinner." _

Cho raised an eyebrow at the "me", fighting off an amused snort. He was still pleasantly surprised by how much charisma and whimsical wit Summer managed to convey. He turned back to listen to the rest of the message, listening as she did a quick recap of how she was, a few minor details of her trip and how she was very eager to see him again.

"… _so I'll see you soon! Bye Kimball!" __Beep._ End of messages.

Cho sat on his couch allowing himself to mull over the voicemail. Summer was finally coming back. They hadn't met face to face in almost two years, she had told him in every letter, email, text and phone call that she was fully devoting her time and effort on bettering herself, becoming totally legit. And she did sound better since they'd parted, and he sincerely hoped there was some truth to that.

The corners of his lips twitched up in a small smile as one thought ran through his mind.

_Two weeks._

oOoOoOo

Grace's day was stretching to an incredibly long length. She sat in her chair at her desk, late at night after most people had left; hands crouched over keyboard, as she gnawed at her lip in strict concentration, fighting off sleep even though she knew that the last thing she needed was even darker circles under her eyes. Honestly it was her own fault; such hypocrisy couldn't be avoided anyway. She'd told the guys not to look into it. She was the one who had brought finality to that particular discussion after the guy's curiosity got the better of them and they pestered her about what they should do, but now here she was running background checks on Amelia and her family.

And what was really ticking her off and making her feel the need to bang her head against the desk dramatically was that she'd come up empty. Zero, zilch, nothing… at least nothing that raised any red flags. Everyone was a pair of goody two shoes, with no real suspicious activity.

She honestly didn't know what she'd expected.

For her computer to suddenly freeze and flash a million red smiley's?

A flashing match of Teresa's and Amelia's faces?

A witness protection seal?

Her parents had checked out, the father owned a car company and managed a series of hotels across the country, while her mother was the heiress to her father's rather large real estate business, also managing a degree in English literature, moving on from teaching at universities, to publishing sixteen successful children's books, basically leaving them both with plenty to retire with in a modern Victorian mansion in California. The good samaritans role carried on with Amelia's other siblings, excluding Taylor, she had an older brother Darien, who was a lawyer, a year younger than Darien was her other sister Sarah, who worked in the theater, and the two youngest Eric and Marie were twins, Eric was a doctor-who also had an affinity for racecar driving-, while Marie was a physical therapist. Again excluding Taylor, all married, with one or two kids.

And that's how it continued.

All through various extended family and otherwise, everyone was successful, pleasant do-gooders, all clean records minus one speeding ticket of an overzealous aunt driving home after a large new year's party but it was paid and dealt with very quickly, the aunt going so far as to send baskets of muffins and various sweets to the officer and his precinct.

In the end it only served to cut whatever hopes she had to ribbons.

Angry and frustrated she chalked the whole thing up to some cosmic coincidence and shut her computer off, packing her bags so she could go home. As she walked out of the CBI, she slowed her steps as she dug in her bag for her car keys, to concentrated on the task at hand, that she missed the man stealthy sneaking up behind her, only letting out a small shriek as a cloth was placed over her mouth and she blacked out.

**A.N. Thank you once more to those who left such lovely reviews, and of course to all who follow, favorite, and that just take their time to read this :) Happy Superbowl Weekend!**


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